Getting Religion
Faith, Culture, and Politics from the Age of Eisenhower to the Ascent of Trump
Kenneth L. Woodward
- "In
- this
- thoughtful
- book,
- Ken
- Woodward
- offers
- us
- a
- memorable
- portrait
- of
- the
- past
- seven
- decades
- of
- American
- life
- and
- culture.
- From
- Reinhold
- Niebuhr
- to
- Billy
- Graham,
- from
- Abraham
- Heschel
- to
- the
- Dali
- Lama,
- from
- George
- W.
- Bush
- to
- Hillary
- Clinton,
- Woodward
- captures
- the
- personalities
- and
- charts
- the
- philosophical
- trends
- that
- have
- shaped
- the
- way
- we
- live
- now."
- –Jon
- Meacham,
- author
- of
- Destiny
- and
- PowerImpeccably
- researched,
- thought-challenging
- and
- leavened
- by
- wit,
- Getting
- Religion,
- the
- highly-anticipated
- new
- book
- from
- Kenneth
- L.
- Woodward,
- is
- ideal
- perfect
- for
- readers
- looking
- to
- understand
- how
- religion
- came
- to
- be
- a
- contentious
- element
- in
- 21st
- century
- public
- life.Here
- the
- award-winning
- author
- blends
- memoir
- (especially
- of
- the
- postwar
- era)
- with
- copious
- reporting
- and
- shrewd
- historical
- analysis
- to
- tell
- the
- story
- of
- how
- American
- religion,
- culture
- and
- politics
- influenced
- each
- other
- in
- the
- second
- half
- of
- the
- 20th
- century.
- There
- are
- few
- people
- writing
- today
- who
- could
- tell
- this
- important
- story
- with
- such
- authority
- and
- insight.
- A
- scholar
- as
- well
- as
- one
- of
- the
- nation’s
- most
- respected
- journalists,
- Woodward
- served
- as
- Newsweek’s
- religion
- editor
- for
- nearly
- forty
- years,
- reporting
- from
- five
- continents
- and
- contributing
- over
- 700
- articles,
- including
- nearly
- 100
- cover
- stories,
- on
- a
- wide
- range
- of
- social
- issues,
- ideas
- and
- movements.Beginning
- with
- a
- bold
- reassessment
- of
- the
- Fifties,
- Woodward’s
- narrative
- weaves
- through
- Civil
- Rights
- era
- and
- the
- movements
- that
- followed
- in
- its
- wake:
- the
- anti-Vietnam
- movement;
- Liberation
- theology
- in
- Latin
- America;
- the
- rise
- of
- Evangelicalism
- and
- decline
- of
- mainline
- Protestantism;
- women’s
- liberation
- and
- Bible;
- the
- turn
- to
- Asian
- spirituality;
- the
- transformation
- of
- the
- family
- and
- emergence
- of
- religious
- cults;
- and
- the
- embrace
- of
- righteous
- politics
- by
- both
- the
- Republican
- and
- Democratic
- Parties.Along
- the
- way,
- Woodward
- provides
- riveting
- portraits
- of
- many
- of
- the
- era’s
- major
- figures:
- preachers
- like
- Billy
- Graham
- and
- Jerry
- Falwell;
- politicians
- Mario
- Cuomo
- and
- Hillary
- Clinton;
- movement
- leaders
- Daniel
- Berrigan,
- Abraham
- Joshua
- Heschel,
- and
- Richard
- John
- Neuhaus;
- influential
- thinkers
- ranging
- from
- Erik
- Erikson
- to
- Elizabeth
- Kubler-Ross;
- feminist
- theologians
- Rosemary
- Reuther
- and
- Elizabeth
- Schussler-Fiorenza;
- and
- est
- impresario
- Werner
- Erhardt;
- plus
- the
- author’s
- long
- time
- friend,
- the
- Dalai
- Lama.For
- readers
- interested
- in
- how
- religion,
- economics,
- family
- life
- and
- politics
- influence
- each
- other,
- Woodward
- introduces
- fresh
- a
- fresh
- vocabulary
- of
- terms
- such
- as
- “embedded
- religion,”
- “movement
- religion”
- and
- “entrepreneurial
- religion”
- to
- illuminate
- the
- interweaving
- of
- the
- secular
- and
- sacred
- in
- American
- public
- life.This
- is
- one
- of
- those
- rare
- books
- that
- changes
- the
- way
- Americans
- think
- about
- belief,
- behavior
- and belonging.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
